The crime was as gruesome as any committed by an adult.
Firefighters discovered the bodies of 16-year-old Sierra Brown and her older sister, Uniek Atkins, in a burned out Westchester apartment. Brown had been beaten and shot once at close range, while Atkins died from multiple gunshots, according to court filings. Police arrested Brown’s 17-year-old boyfriend, alleging he had doused the apartment in bleach and torched it to cover his tracks.
George Gascón inherited the 2018 killings when he took over as Los Angeles County’s district attorney in December. Before his election, prosecutors planned to try the teen as an adult and, if he was convicted, have him sent to prison for decades. It was a punishment the victims’ relatives supported.